There was 'unrest' at Salesforce ahead of co-CEO Bret Taylor announcing that he is leaving the company, according to multiple reports.
The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, and Tech Crunch have all suggested growing tension at the top of Salesforce.
If reports are to be believed, discussions were held among executives at Salesforce to get Taylor to remain with the company.
Lauren Thomas, Wall Street Journal Reporter, posted on LinkedIn: "We reported that there had been growing tensions between the software company's two co-CEOs ahead of Bret Taylor's departure being announced earlier this month.
"There was some discussion about trying to work things out and arranging for Taylor to stay for another year or so, but that didn’t pan out, people familiar with the matter said."
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Salesforce stock price raised by 5.7 percent ahead of the earnings call on November 30 and then fell by the same amount in the hours after Taylor's announcement.
Taylor made the announcement during Salesforce's Q3 earnings call, in which the company reported a 14 percent YoY rise in revenue.
When Taylor made his announcement, his departure seemed amicable, with Marc Benioff, Founder and fellow co-CEO at Salesforce, giving him a warm-hearted send-off.
He said:
"Bret, you know that you’re always going to be our brother. You know that we love you very deeply and that you have a home here. We’re going to try to get you back somehow."
On the earnings call, there appeared to be no bad blood between the two Salesforce chiefs, with Taylor heaping praise on Benioff.
He commented: "Marc, you've been my mentor long before I joined this company. And in the past six years, your relationship has definitely become the most significant in my professional career.
